Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Agency Ali Akbr Salehi had expressed hope that Bushehr nuclear plant becomes fully operational by spring of 1389 (Iranian calendar year began on March 21. He said so at a congress held to commemorate Khajeh Nasir-e Din Tousi, the prominent Iranian mathematician and engineer of 10th century AD on February 24 in the city of Yazd located in the center of the country.
Earlier at another session centered on the safety of the Iran's nuclear energy system, Salehi had announced on March 2 that the power station will be online within a few months. His announcement was based on the promises made by the Russians and their timetable for implementing the project.
Referring to Salehi's announcement, the speaker of national security and foreign policy commission of the Parliament (Majlis), Kazem Jalali had also told Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency on March 5 that Russians have vowed to finalize the plan by the spring.
Two days later Jalali told Mehr news agency that Salehi and Akhoundzadeh, deputy of international relations of Foreign Ministry have attended the session held by national security and foreign policy commission on the issue when Salehi once again promised the power station will be operational in the first months of the next Iranian calendar year.
But on March 18, Russian officials once again made a new pledge on the issue.
Speaking at a meeting on nuclear industry topics in the south Russia city of Volgodonsk, the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin declared: "We will carry on developing nuclear energy both inside and outside the Russia."
As Reuters reports, Putin who many diplomats believe plays the leading role of Russian foreign policy toward Iran said on implementing Bushehr nuclear plant: "The launch of the first unit of Iran's nuclear power station should be executed already this summer."
Quite accidentally! Putin's announcement coincided with the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Russia where at a joint news conference of U.S. and Russia Foreign Ministers, the correspondents asked Clinton to give her idea on Putin's remarks.
Criticizing the announcement Clinton claimed such a decision would be "remature, sending a wrong message to Iran," but his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov defended his country's undertakings on Bushehr plant and deemed it as "the key initiative which keeps Iran cooperating with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)."
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